Clothesline-supporting device



March 30 1926.

C. MCREYNOLDS CLOTHESLINE SUPPORTING DEVICE Filed-.Marenga Patented Mar.3f), 13126.

UNITED STATES r/ 1 l CARSON MCBEYNOLDS, F PONTIAC, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOB'T0 IDAV'IILD In BOND, 0l'

PONTIAC, MIQHIGAN.

' CLOTHESLINE-SUPPORTING DEVICE.-

Application nea xmn s, 192s. semi m. 14,155.

To all ivhom it may concern.'

Be it known that L-CARsoN MCREYNOLDS,

' a citizen of the United States, residing at `same to be used onPontiac, in the county of Oakland and State of Michigan, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in a Clothesline-Supporting Device,of which the following 1s4 a specification. f

This invention relates to a device for supporting a clothes line in anelevated position for preventing clothes carried by said line fromengaging the ground which would cause the soiling thereof, and aims toprovide a novel and improved device of the rabove indicated character,having a pair of spring jaws for engaging the clothes line on olpositesides thereof to4 ieldably clamp sal line therebetween, an preventslidingmovement of the line with relation to the support.

Another object of thefinvention is to provide a support for clotheslines,which is adjustable as to length, for permitting the linesarranged at various heights, said adjustment also permitting the supportto be positioned in a compact form in order that the same may be movedindoors when'not in use, or for permitting convenient handling thereof.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a device of the kindindicated, which is simple and substantial in construction, which can bemanufactured economically, and whichlfjvill be thoroughly eiicient andpractical inise.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which willtbe apparent asthe description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction andarrangement of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed, it beingunderstood that changes can be made withinthe scope of what is claimed,without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating myv improved device attachedto a clothes line.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section of thel In carr'ing out theinvention, the nui meral 10 eslgnates the pole or prop, which consistsof a plurality of tubular telescopic v sections arranged for slidingmovement one within another, said telescopic sections being indicated bythe numerals 11, 12, and 13. Adjacent the upper'ends of the sections 11and 12 and screw threadedly ex` tending `into the interior thereof areset screws 14 and 15 adapted to engage the sections slidably received inthe sections carrying said set screws. The sections 12 and 13 arereduced at their lower ends and-have received in said reduced ortionscollars 16 and 17 constructed of rub er or the like for preventing thescraping olf of painted portions 18 arranged adjacent the lower ends ofthe sections 12 and 13, said ainted portions bein arranged for inicating the limit of a justment of one section with relation toanother., The lower end of the lowermost section 11 has the interiorthereof screw-threaded, as at v19, 'for receiving a threaded plug 20which carries a depending point or rojection 21 that is adapted toengage in t e ground for reventing slipping or sliding movement o thelower end of the pole.

The upper end of the uppermost section 13 isbifurcated or slotted, as at22, and has received in said bifurcation the lower ends of a series ofplates 23 constructed of spring steel, or the like, said plates beingsecuredl in said bifurcation by the passing of rivets 24 therethrough.The spring plates 23 project from the uppermost sectlon 13 in anupwardly direction and are arranged in pairs for providing the springjaws between which the clothes line is clamped. The two innermost plates25 and 26 extend upwardly in parallel relation to each other throughoutthe major portion of the length thereof, and have their uppermostextremities 'diverging from each other, as at 27, to provide a V- shapedguide for directing the clothes line between the parallel portion of theplates 25 and 26.

The two plates 23 positioned on the outer sides of the series of platesbeing designated by the numerals 28 and 29 are constructed of thickermaterial than the-plates 25 and 26, and have portions thereof bowedoutwardly, as at 28a and 29?, in order to form greater spring tension onthe innermost plates 25 and 26. The upper ends of the outermost l platesconform to the general shape of the upper ends 27 of the plates 25 and26, but terminate short of the upper ends of said inner plates. Theextremities of the inner plates and 26 are bent back upon themselves, asat\30, to provide sockets in which the extremities of the outermostplates 28 and 29 are received. It is to be noted that the outer platesterminate a short distance from the closed ends of the sockets 30 whenin an inoperative osition, as indicated by the numeral 31, and) thatwhen moved to the position indicated by dotted lines in Figure 3, arelative'sliding movement 1s effected between the outer and innerplates, otherwise the spreading of the spring jaws would be prevented.

My improved constructlon of sprlng gaws forengaging a clothes line isnot only to be used upon the upper end of a clothes prop, but is alsoarranged for fastening or securing the opposite ends of the clothes lineto the object between which the line is suspended, one of the fasteningelements being indicated by the numeral 32 in Figure 1. In this form of-my invention, the spring plates are attached to the upper end of amember 33 in a similar manner to the way the plates are attached to theupper section of the prop, said member 33 having a screw ,threadedextension 34 thereon arranged in the shape of a wood screw, in orderthat said fastening elements maybe rigidly secured to an object, such asthat indicated by the numeral 35. In order to prevent relative slidingmovement of the clothes line with rela.- tion to the securing orfastening elements 32, a knot is tied in each end of the clothes linefor engaging the edges of the inner and outer pla In operation, the setscrews 14 and 15 are turned in order to permit the telescopic sectionsof the pole to beslid with relation to .ing

each other, so that said pole may be arranged in an elongated 'form orextended position. When in such position the set screws 14 and 15 aretightened to prevent relative sliding movement of the sections withrelation to eachother. The pole is then moved .to a position with theclothes line arranged between the diverging ends of the inner plates 25and 26, andby forcing the pole in a longitudinal direction the sprino'jaws will be spread or opened, thus clamping the clothes linetherebetween, while the pointed end 21 is engaged in the ground. It willbe noted that the clamping of the spring jaws against the clothes linewill prevent the falling of the pole when the clothes on the line areblown to a high elevation due to high winds and that sliding movement ofthe pole with relation to the line is prevented,

Having thus described my invention. what I claim as new is:

A clothes line support comprising a member having a slot in its upperend, inner and outer sets of plates, the said plates at one end enteringthe said slot and being in close contact with each other, the outerplates being outwardly bowed at points between their ends and havingoutwardly curved outer extremities, the inner plates being in closecontact .with each other along their inner portions and having outwardlycurved outer end portions the extremities of which are provided withreturn bends and merginto iianges which bear against the outer surfacesof the extremities of the rst mentioned plates, the end edges y of thefirst mentioned plates being normally spaced from the inner surfaces ofthe return bends of the second mentioned plates.

In testimony whereof, I have atiixed my signature CARSON MoRE-YNOLDS.

